Not consenting to dc being on school Facebook

[nevernotstruggling]

I deactivated my Facebook account for 5 years. Dds are 6 and 9. The school didn't have social media when dd1 started in 14.

I've activated my Facebook in the last week and been directed to the school Facebook page. I was horrified. Hundreds of photos of children including mine close up not group shots far away.

The school sent a media consent form this week where you could choose yes to photos and website but no to social media. I have said no.

I'm worried that this might mean the dds are left out of pictures when they are taken and this might upset them.

I don't consent to my child being posted on open social
Media accounts I'm not having it. It's totally unnecessary and unsafe.

Has anyone else done this? What was the outcome?

What does it matter if children are identifiable unless there are specific circumstances where they are at risk? In general there is going to be no more risk to a child than if they were down the park.... strangers can here there name being called... could probably work out that they live in that town... it's exactly the same, no more or less risk for most children. Unless they are posting individual pics of the kids with their address telephone number and full name then the risks are no more or less than that child being out in public.

@ladyspongecake exactly this. My school didn't shout about Facebook either

If you said no to photos and your child is in photos, reiterate it!

I say this as a teacher. Either the policies are flawed or poorly distributed. That needs fixing.

Facebook do not own the pictures that are posted on there. Whatever they say in their Ts&Cs, they cannot override copyright law. They may be able to reuse the pictures, but they don’t own them. The copyright stays with the picture taker.

People that think social media is harmless are delusional.
YANBU OP, I don't understand why people are so eager to create an online presence for their children before they are even able to understand what "online" is, or can consent to their photos being published.

I'm no longer on facebook, and have set up an encrypted family group chat, because I don't want my child's image owned by facebook.

Totally fair enough if you don’t want to consent to the use of the child’s images on social media. Obviously it means they won’t be on social media and will be excluded from any pictures taken for that purpose. You can’t have your cake and eat it.

@PRoseLegend thank you. It feels like one of those hopeless debates where you tell people it's not safe but they will do it anyway....because they want to. Bit like bloody cot bumpers...

@PRoseLegend delusional how? Social media is not completely harmless but it carries the same risks as anything else. Some people enjoy it and find it positive. Some people enjoy seeing their childrens pictures on the school website etc.... that is entirely up them as a family. They arent delusional. Just as they have no right to imply you or your children should take part, you have no right to imply they are crazy to allow it.

Are photos at school taken only for the purpose of social media then???

But no one is actually saying WHY it is unsafe for a child who is not adopted and not at risk due to personal circumstances?

I'm worried that this might mean the dds are left out of pictures when they are taken and this might upset them

Well obviously!

If teachers are taking pictures to post on social media, they have to leave out children whose parents haven't consented. That's blindingly obvious.

I've seen it happen at school shows, they get all the children arranged in a group then pull two to the side to stand behind. Quite clearly the children whose parents have refused permission. You are of course free to withhold consent for social media for whatever reason you want, but that decision has consequences.

You can't just expect the school to stop doing social media completely because you don't like it.

I don't have either of my kids photos published on school media, my facebook is private and only has people who I've known for years on there, they are not at risk per say, my dds paternal grandmother is just batshit insane and has specifically said she wants custody of her. Its my personal preferance.

If I was the Head I would not be impressed by a parent demanding to know why I thought a school face book page was fine.
And your demanding is not going to change anything. What it seems like OP is that you really want an opportunity to have a go at her.

People that think social media is harmless are delusional

Totally agree

Plus I’m on a few school FB pages from previous schools - at no point are the people vetted and removed - they are freely accepted and you have no idea how or if they are linked to the school (could be strangers or family)

Photos are stolen and I’ve seen a few kids in high school bullied and teased about their childhood pictures -

Would you send their baby photos to be displayed in high school? At the entrance for anyone to see? No? Would you do it at work with your own?

Going to request a meeting with the new head as I want a concrete reason who close up photos of any child are justified

You are well within your rights to deny permission for your own DC but the school don't have to justify themselves to you with regard to what they do with photos of other DC whose parents have given permission. It certainly doesn't warrant a "meeting" with the HT anyway. This is the sort of thing that could easily be dealt with via email.

Yes I think you need to separate out what you have a right to do and what you don’t

I will say this social media I agree it has a pervasive influence in society but that doesn’t mean you can challenge the school decision- the majority are nowadays that isn’t going to change in the foreseeable future
The school should not have any pictures of your children up if you have not given permission but the consequences maybe your children feel left out

So you need to explain to them

And is the head allowed to decide whether she has a conversation with me or not or should she ask persimmon

Up to you for your child but not for you to legislate for others

So if the local paper wanted to print a picture with your kids in it, eg the local juniors football team etc, would you object to that?

ds school fb page was only a "look what xx class are doing", little johnny got star of the day etc etc. so for parents. .....AND THE REST OF THE WORLD!! and theres a lot of weird world! But the page accepts without any questions or vetting (as some pages does just for camping, interests) anyone to have a good ol gawp!!

so basiccaly a pedo`s dream lol

Also curious about how it works with inclusion policy. Must be pretty shit for adopted kids when as soon as the camera comes out the staff have to say 'oh not you Johnny you can't join in....Facebook is the priority here!!'

@ladyspongecake exactly

It's pretty easy, really, to follow the permissions. Photos are taken as normal, all children included, and then I go through and crop/edit them, ensuring that 'no photos at all' children don't feature anywhere, 'no external photos' children only have their pictures displayed in school and, if there's a particular event or I've got an incredibly good shot, I'll phone the parent and ask for permission to use it specifically for that event/offer them the photo for personal use if they don't want to give it.

I've been given a copy of the spreadsheet recording the exact permissions - and with secondary, anybody over 13 also has to consent themselves as well as a parent. I'm also, ironically, one of those 'no photo or mentions on external documents' people, due to a batshit ex - and was immensely pissed off when a previous head sent out a staff list to all parents giving my full name, as there are, as far as I can tell, only two people in the UK with my name, so I'm very identifiable.

GDPR has actually been a good thing from my point of view, as I'm now able to say no and have it taken seriously, but at the same time, it's important for schools now to have a social media presence, as parents rely upon it often because they don't bother reading emails or letters to know what's going on and, without one, it's difficult to market the school to prospective parents; with the issue of academy/free school over capacity now, it's essential for schools to maintain a positive online presence in order to keep applications up. Even an outstanding school will see a collapse in applications if there isn't visible positive news and information - people assume if it isn't online, they aren't doing anything good/local rags only print the sad face stories and gossip if there isn't somebody with a mate working there.

@MitziK thank you for your post that's incredibly helpful. Really what I want to know from my dc head is that their school follow the procedure you describe